ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy still believes the Boston Celtics will advance to the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics enter Friday with a record of 22-15, good for fifth place in the East. However, things haven't been as smooth as everyone thought they would be entering the year.

When LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and left the East, everyone picked Boston to easily win their conference. Nonetheless, the Toronto Raptors — led by Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry — are the best team in the NBA right now and look like the front runners to win the conference.

Jeff Van Gundy, though, thinks Boston is deeper than Toronto and that will help them reach the Finals.

The Celtics currently have the sixth-best defense in the NBA, as they are only giving up 105.9 points per game. Their offense, while it is a work in progress, is slowly becoming stellar again. Boston is putting up 111.7 points per game, good for 13th in the NBA.

Bringing Gordon Hayward off the bench has helped the Celtics get their offense on track. Hayward was having difficultly playing alongside Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum, two players who need the ball in their hands to be successful. Head coach Brad Stevens made the right move by putting Marcus Smart into the starting lineup, as Smart is a rugged defender who might just be the most important player in Boston.

There's still a lot of basketball left to be played, but it looks like the Celtics and Raptors are on a collision course in the East.